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Ten walks in a game? It’s unheard of. Even A.J. Burnett’s wild 2001 no-hitter only reached 9. On July 21, 1983, the New York Mets were 34-58 with nothing but pride to play for. They’d lose this game as well behind a 10-walk pitching performance.
Mike Torrez led the league in walks 3 times in his career and would finish with a 4.1 BB/9 and 4.2 K/9 rate. Batters cancelling those out is a good thing. Pitchers who reach ball 4 almost as much as they do strike 3 are problematic.
On his way to walking 113 batters, the most in the NL, Torrez would spend this day issuing 10 free passes to Cincinnati Reds batters.
How did the Mets let Mike Torrez walk 10 batters in one game?
After retiring the first two batters of the game, Torrez proceeded to walk three straight. There were three stolen bases allowed with the result being the same at the end. He managed to escape the inning unscathed.
The second inning started the same. Torrez got two outs then walked two more. A flyball ended the inning with Torrez looking dull but not unmatched.
The third inning is when the walks caught up to him. A double followed by two more walks loaded them up with nobody out. A double put a crooked number on the board. Torrez would issue two intentional walks before getting out of the inning. The Reds took a 3-1 lead.
Torrez went into the fourth inning on a short leash. A lineout followed by a walk set up for a two-run home run. Then came the hook. Craig Swan was in. Torrez’s day was over.
The pitch count for the game isn’t available, but with 10 walks, that’s 40 already. The Reds would draw just one more walk for the rest of the day, on their way to a 6-1 victory that required a little bit of patience and some timely swings.
For the curious among us, 10 walks isn't even close to the record for most by a pitcher in a single game. Bruno Haas of the 1915 Philadelphia Athletics and Tommy Byrne of the 1951 St. Louis Browns both had 16-walk games. MLB records so old those teams didn't exist nor did the Mets, we can probably count on Torrez holding the single-game record for the Amazins for all-time, regardless if there's a no-hitter going or not.
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This article was originally published on risingapple.com as The one where a NY Mets pitcher is allowed to walk 10 batters in a game.
